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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28060536">The Rest is Noise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cls1606/pseuds/call-me-cee'>call-me-cee (cls1606)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Rest is Noise [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Actually this is the spiciest thing I've ever written, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slightly Spicy, Which is maybe sad but everybody has to start somewhere, maybe there's a little bit of officer kink, title comes from the music I was listening to as I finished it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:12:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,148</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28060536</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cls1606/pseuds/call-me-cee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The aftermath of a joke taken too far leaves Rex and Fives with some things to work out.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo &amp; CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives, CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives/CT-7567 | Rex</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Rest is Noise [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2055516</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>132</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Captain Rex Stuff, Echo&amp;Fives</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Rest is Noise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Ok so this concept just kept eating at me after I published that crazy crack-fic. I wanted some resolution. This is not actually a crack-fic even though it's a continuation of one? I dunno. I just write the things. Or do the things write themselves? ...🤷🏻♀️</p>
<p>Many many many thanks to TheAceApples for reviewing this for me (since I finished it at almost 1am and was mostly delirious at that point)!! 🥰</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rex hears scuffling and low voices outside his office door and looks up curiously from his paperwork. </p>
<p>“-‘m telling you it’s fine-“</p>
<p>“It’s not fine, I’m kriffing tired of watching you moon over him-“</p>
<p>“I do <em>not</em>-“</p>
<p>“If you don’t <em>get in there</em> and <em>kriffing DO something</em> I will drag you in and do it <em>for</em> you-“</p>
<p>“Okay, okay!” The scuffling stops. “Okay.”</p>
<p>A pause. Rex stays seated, his eyes on the door, brows raised. Do they know that he can hear them? </p>
<p>“…Well?” </p>
<p>“I can’t just- with you <em>standing</em> here- no, Echo, <em>don’t</em>-” </p>
<p>Three crisp knocks sound on the door. Bemused, Rex calls, “Enter,” and watches as the door slides open to reveal the two troopers Rex has been stealthily avoiding for the past three days. Echo releases his hold on Fives’ arm and shoves him into Rex’s broom closet of an office, then steps back and calls, “Evening, sir,” as he walks away. The door slides closed again, leaving Fives standing just inside but still close enough in the tiny space for Rex to have to tilt his head up to meet Fives’ eyes for the first time since that damn sparring session. </p><hr/>
<p>
  <em>As promised, Rex is beating the living daylights out of Fives on the training mats. Theoretically, they’re evenly matched - both ARC Troopers, both trained by the Alpha-class still stationed on Kamino - but Rex is Cody’s vod’ika and, well, experience really does outrank everything. Fives is smart, so smart, but Rex fights hard and dirty.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Fives manages to get a leg around Rex’s hips as they grapple down to the mat, but he’s exactly two and half years late for that move to still work on Rex, who twists his hips and uses Fives’ own momentum to plant him facedown on the mat with his arm twisted behind him. Fives resists instinctively for a few seconds but soon taps out with a resigned groan. Rex releases him. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Fives gets up slowly, obviously pained and slightly out of breath. This is not their first match. Rex is pretty sure he bruised Fives’ ribs two spars ago, but other than some tentatively deep breaths and some prodding at his left side Fives hasn’t said anything about it. In fact, he hasn’t complained or wise-cracked at all, which is so out of character Rex knows it’s probably the reason they’re attracting so many stares and surreptitious mutterings from other troopers. Fives is famous for his big mouth. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>(Although if they paid more attention, Rex thinks, they’d see that the humor and bluster hides a brilliant tactical mind and an honestly easygoing temperament. Unlike Rex, who grew up into a somber perfectionist prone to melancholy, Fives transformed his experience as an underdog into an easy confidence and care for others that means that he’s usually in the middle of whatever’s going on in Torrent. Whether that be enthusiastically listening to Hardcase expound on his latest hyperfixation or sympathetically joining with Kix’s complaints about natborns - and especially when Echo’s on another of his pessimistic rants and needs to be brought back to reason - if there’s activity in Torrent, Rex knows to look for Fives at its center. Rex might be the head of the 501st, but he has enough self-awareness to know that Fives is the heart.) </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But Fives is uncharacteristically quiet as he repeatedly hits the mat and comes back up for more, never taking more than two or three breaths for a systems check before getting back into starting position. Rex had informed him peremptorily the day that he’d been released from Medical that he was due for training in the mat room after chow, and because he was a coward who couldn’t look Fives in the eye he’d promptly turned tail and marched out of the barracks. Fives had shown up on time, though, and had silently stripped to his blacks and met Rex on the mat with a resigned air of endurance. </em>
</p>
<p><em>Rex has no idea what to do with a silent and subdued Fives, but he understands sweat and adrenaline and movement, action and reaction, the give and take of a fight. The push-pull of…whatever he feels…is similar enough that he wonders if maybe he just needed a really good spar to get it out of his system. So he takes Fives to the mat over and over again, slamming him down each time with enough force that it echoes in the quiet gym. The usual gym crowd has dissipated. They probably want to stay out of the way of his rage, glad that Fives is there to take the fall. But Rex isn’t mad. He doesn’t know what he feels, exactly, but at least he knows it’s not anger.</em> </p>
<p>
  <em>He meets Fives’ eyes once. It’s an accident. He’s been keeping his eyes on Fives’ shoulders and hips, anticipating his next move, but Fives manages to catch his eye while he’s limping back to his feet. Fives’ intelligent eyes are softly understanding and Rex doesn’t understand why. He’s been nothing but horrible to Fives for the past month, revenge for that stupid, stupid joke, the embarrassment and frustrated desire eating away at him until he could hardly get two words out to his ARC troopers without snapping. He knows it’s been eating into morale. Echo has never been the subtlest of personalities and his anger at Rex is as obvious as it is cold and biting, their professional interactions becoming frostier and frostier the more miserable Fives looks. Why Fives would be sympathetic to Rex, his tormentor, of all people is beyond Rex’s comprehension. He wrenches his eyes away and back to Fives’ shoulders. “Again.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Fives is a brilliant fighter. He gives as good as he gets; but Rex achieved his command through truly exceptional focus and determination, and this spar ends the same way as the rest, with Fives wrangled and pinned to the mat.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Except.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They must have been getting tired, because Fives keeps his grip on Rex’s forearm but doesn’t resist as Rex sweeps his leg, and Rex doesn’t have the energy to recover fast enough to stop. He barely manages to catch himself from head butting Fives by flinging his free arm out to land next to them. They land with a whuff of breath on the mat. Rex suddenly finds himself eye to eye with the man he’d thought he’d been becoming friends (and maybe more) with - until the ridicule started and the gnawing pain of betrayal prompted him to lash out defensively.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He was able to look away before but now he finds himself frozen. His one consolation is that Fives seems to be in the same boat, although that might just be because Rex is sprawled directly on top of him. Fives’ eyes are the softest brown Rex has ever seen, which makes no sense because Rex sees the same eyes in the mirror every morning. But Fives’ gaze roams over his face as if it’s a touch, leaving warmth in its wake, and Rex’s heart can’t take this, stuttering and hiccuping and wanting wanting wanting to just…close the gap between them. Fives is sunlight and kindness and everything Rex wants but can’t have. The grip on his forearm is firm, but starts to soften as Fives strokes his thumb over Rex’s blacks. He wishes there wasn’t a layer of fabric between his skin and Fives’ touch. His stare drops from Fives’ eyes to his mouth and hears Fives’ breath stutter and his grip tighten once again. A shift of Fives’ thigh brings him even closer, and Rex gasps softly, yanking his eyes back up to Fives’. Their mouths are so close. Rex can feel Fives’ breath mingling with his own. He’s drowning in Fives’ desperate gaze and he finally lets himself wonder what it would feel like if he simply closed the distance and-</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Fives, are you still in he-OH. oh. Uh.” Echo halts just inside the door and comes to attention as Rex roughly shoves away from Fives and stands. “Sir.” Fives is still on the ground, staring up at Rex. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“You’re dismissed, Fives,” Rex says. He walks to the bench on the far wall where he keeps his bag and starts to re-armor himself, refusing to look up as he hears shuffling and, finally, the sound of the door opening and closing.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He sits hard on the bench and puts his pounding head in his hands, breathing shakily. What is he doing?</em>
</p><hr/>
<p>After a moment of awkward, frozen silence, Fives snaps to attention. “Sir!” But he doesn’t continue, his eyes fixed straight ahead. </p>
<p>Rex just wants this to be over as quickly as possible. “Well? Spit it out.” </p>
<p>There’s another long moment. Then, “Sir. Commander Cody came and talked to me while I was still in Medical,” Fives says, eyes still on the wall above Rex’s head. “…He said that you don’t like being made fun of. Because of your hair. Because it was a close thing, saving you from being decommissioned.”</p>
<p>Rex lets out a frustrated huff. “Dammit, Cody,” he mutters. </p>
<p>Fives breaks position and takes one half-aborted step forward, dropping his bucket on the floor with a dull <em>thunk</em>. “But I wasn’t trying to make fun of you, sir! I wouldn’t do that if I knew you didn’t like it. I swear. I thought you- because you laughed- and- and you <em>looked</em> at me and I-” Fives stops, swallows. He takes a breath and starts again. “I’m sorry, sir. I know you might not think it’s sincere now that-”</p>
<p>“What?” Rex interrupts, brows raising in shock. “Of course I know you’re sincere.”</p>
<p>Fives’ eyes widen as they jump to Rex’s. His mouth shuts with an audible click. </p>
<p>“You’re always sincere. You <em>never lie</em>, Fives. I know that.” Rex decides that this conversation should be had on more equal footing and rises from his desk to walk around and lean back against it. He crosses his arms and frowns, confused as to why that was even a question. He may not be as sharp with the snappy comebacks as Jesse or Echo but he’s not an idiot. </p>
<p>Fives frowns back, processing Rex’s words. “So…you’re not mad?”</p>
<p>“I was never mad.” At Fives’ incredulous look Rex amends, “Alright, I was mad for a little bit but I was mostly…” He sighs and resigns himself to this conversation. After all, Fives wasn’t the only one Cody had talked to. “I was embarrassed, okay?” </p>
<p>He shuffles, arms still crossed and refusing to meet Fives’ steady gaze. “Look, I don’t expect you to understand. Not really. I know you and Echo had some trouble starting out, but now you’re <em>Domino Squad</em>, pride of Kamino. Have you seen the way some of the shinies look at you? You and Echo stand out, even among ARCs, and you’ve always been able to do that with your actions, not…not the way you look.” He takes a deep breath, lets it out. Fives is still quiet. “I know that’s why Echo hasn’t deviated from regulation hair or gotten any ink. He likes being exceptional for the intangibles, the unseen. I get it. But I never got that choice.” </p>
<p>Another deep breath. Why is this so hard? But he’s committed to saying it, so he can’t turn back.</p>
<p>“It’s not a big deal for batches now, being blond or red, but mine was the first. No one else survived decanting, but I did, and somehow I didn’t get immediately recycled. But it didn’t matter what I did, didn’t matter how great my scores were, didn’t matter that I had a perfect record. I couldn’t go anywhere alone. I couldn’t sneak around after lights-out like the others. I couldn’t even leave my pod until Cody or Wolffe gave me the signal that they were awake too. I couldn’t make any mistakes, because I already <em>was</em> a mistake and the longnecks wouldn’t tolerate more than one. They were a lot less…forgiving...of deviations…back then. So, humor - it was private. Because it was dangerous, for me. Nobody joked about the goofs I made, we covered them up or blamed them on someone else. Teasing was something that happened in the pods or the fresher but not in public…not where anybody but us could overhear. And then I graduated and got promoted to Captain right before Geonosis and, well…” he trailed off. </p>
<p>“I tried to get used to it. I tried to fit in with the regular CTs. But you kept going and going and I got scared. It doesn’t make sense, I know, but even if it did I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. So, really, I should be the one apologizing.” Rex swallows hard and finally looks up. “I’m sorry, Fives. I acted in a manner unbecoming a superior officer. If you’d like to file a complaint or arrange a permanent transfer for yourself and Echo, I understand.” He takes a shuddering breath but refuses to look away. Not this time.</p>
<p>“Whoa. Whoa.” Fives holds up his hands and steps forward again. “Who said anything about a transfer?”</p>
<p>“…I thought-”</p>
<p>“NO. No. I don’t want a transfer and if Echo said something I’ll kill him-”</p>
<p>“He didn’t, but-”</p>
<p>“Okay, good. That’s settled then.”</p>
<p>Now it’s Rex’s turn to blink silently.</p>
<p>Fives stares back, then huffs and runs his hands through his hair. “Okay. I’m just going to say it, since this conversation went informal a long time ago. You really are dense, aren’t you?”</p>
<p>Rex is pretty sure his eyebrows have actually passed his hairline. “…Excuse me?”</p>
<p>“I mean, no offense, but have you seen the way the shines look at <em>you</em>?” Fives laughs incredulously. “If you told Torrent to find a way to do the Kessel Run in only 20 parsecs in a Star Destroyer with just one functional engine, not only would they all start plotting the course but they’d wave off any objections with a shrug and, ‘well, Captain Rex says it can be done, so…’.” He shakes his head. “<em>You</em> are the reason we’re all still alive today. Not General Skywalker, not General Kenobi, not even Marshal Commander Cody. <em>You.</em> You manage to keep us all out of trouble, even when we pull crazy stunts and do things that would probably get us decommissioned with any other command. You keep us under the radar. Somehow. And you never threaten us, never talk about “fixing” us, never make us feel like we’re not good enough to be part of the <em>Grand</em> Army of the Republic.” He laughs again. “Haven’t you noticed that all the misfits keep getting assigned to you, Captain? You keep us safe. You give us a home. You do it without even thinking, like it’s just normal, like it’s natural, and it’s <em>not</em>, Captain, if you would talk with some of the others, especially in the Guard-” Fives stops, bites his tongue, and continues, “Well, anyway. Life could be a lot worse for us, is all I’m saying. And we all know it’s because of you that it’s not. Because you care, and you see what we can do, and you believe in us and you push us to be the best versions of ourselves, and I…” He trails off, breathing hard. Rex is still staring, shocked, his ears and cheeks heating with a furious blush. “I…” </p>
<p>It feels like sparring all over again; Rex’s heart is thumping and he can’t tear his eyes away from Fives’ wet, desperate gaze. </p>
<p>“Ah, fuck it,” Fives says, and with two steps he’s in Rex’s space, gently grabbing his face with both hands. “Don’t break my arms, Captain,” he murmurs, and then he’s-. </p>
<p>He’s-</p>
<p>Rex has never been kissed before. He doesn’t think it’s supposed to be this soft. Fives gently presses his lips to Rex’s, just enough pressure for Rex to understand his intent. He’s only shocked still for a moment before his eyes flutter shut as Fives starts to move, softly peppering Rex’s mouth with kisses, never completely losing contact. Fives has obviously kissed someone before. Rex melts in his grip, arms uncrossing and coming to rest on Fives’ waist in order to pull him closer. He tries pressing back on Fives’ mouth and is surprised into a gasp when Fives flicks his tongue against the seam of Rex’s lips. The sensation of Fives’ tongue against his own, gently stroking and teasing, draws an involuntary moan from his throat and his hands tighten on Fives’ waist. He feels a hand move from his cheek to cradle the back of his head and Fives uses the new angle to step in between Rex’s legs as he catches Rex’s bottom lip between his teeth and <em>sucks</em>. Rex jolts, hips canting up as his hands grip hard enough to bruise if they both weren’t wearing armor, and he moans loud enough to be embarrassing as Fives continues to suck and lick and nibble at his lower lip. </p>
<p>Rex is thinking deliriously that he’s so very glad that he lived long enough to kiss someone outside of his dreams, when the proximity alarm blares through the ship.</p>
<p>Fives pulls back with a gasp, opening his eyes and searching Rex’s gaze. He seems to find what he’s looking for, because he slumps forward to rest his forehead on Rex’s in a Keldabe kiss. “I’ve been wanting to do that almost since the moment I met you.”</p>
<p>Rex can’t think of anything to say that doesn’t sound incredibly, mind-numbingly stupid, but his brain hasn’t caught up with his mouth. “You’re lucky I’m not a CC, or else this would technically be fraternization.” His blush intensifies as he realizes what he just said. Little gods, reduced to idiocy by a kiss.</p>
<p>Fives chuckles, drawing back enough to grin happily at Rex. “Hm, kinky,” he teases, and Rex could watch his smile forever. </p>
<p>But the alarm is still blaring and they have a job to do. They break apart and quickly grab their helmets as they exit the office, but not before Fives grabs Rex for a quick, chaste kiss and “can we talk, after?” Rex nods shyly and is treated to another beaming smile before they don their buckets. </p>
<p>“-ayt squadron to Hangar 2 for immediate deployment, and someone find Captain Rex and get him to the bridge,” Echo’s voice comes authoritatively over the com.</p>
<p>“Copy that, I have the Captain and we’re on our way to the bridge,” Fives responds. </p>
<p>“It’s about time,” Jesse’s voice mutters.</p>
<p>“I beg your pardon,” Fives snaps back, “we were a little busy.”</p>
<p>“I’ll bet!” Hardcase cackles. Rex hears snickers from several different coms. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Hardcase,” Rex says, “I didn’t realize you were so very invested in my love life.”</p>
<p>The radio silence is deafening. Then the shouts and cheers are so loud that Rex can practically feel them, and he can’t help the silly, sappy grin that results. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! I hope the spicy bits were okay. 😬 It was my first time writing anything higher than G/T. 😊✌🏻</p></blockquote></div></div>
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